Neurodivergent uni students fear stereotypes when seeking support, study finds
He said while Federation University had support available for neurodiverse students, accessing it was tricky.
"So, then you try to figure it out yourself without asking people for help because you feel ashamed for not getting it in the first place."
To build on Federation University's initiatives to support its neurodivergent students, Mr Valdes created a club on campus.
"I felt a sense that there was a community [here], but we were so varied and not represented," he said.
The main goal of the Federation University Neurodivergent Club is to support and advocate for students.
Mr Valdes has used the club to advocate for a low-sensory space for neurodivergent students dealing with sensory overload, which the university says is under construction.
The university also has inclusion officers on campus to assist students who seek help and has created "ND toolkits" for staff and students, which are online resources featuring advice and strategies for navigating tertiary education.
Federation University has also surveyed its neurodivergent staff and students to identify key barriers to accessing higher education.
Academic Liam Frost-Camilleri said the results were helping the university work with its neurodivergent cohort.
The study showed a lack of clear communication, "particularly from lecturers", was a barrier many students identified, and that professional development and training for staff on how best to support neurodivergent students was "sorely needed".
"There are a lot of systems that many of these students feel have never really helped them, or they don't feel safe enough to really even disclose that they have neurodivergence," Mr Frost-Camilleri said.
The survey found 75 per cent of neurodivergent students said they were used to being self-reliant and 62 per cent said they lacked the confidence to ask for help, while two-thirds feared being labelled or stereotyped if they asked for support.
"Some students say, 'I don't go and ask [for help] because I want to see if I can do it by myself first,' rather than get the support," Mr Frost-Camilleri said.
"So, it is a problem, [but] there are things that we can do to help support these people."
RMIT University PhD student Jeremy Nagel has created an app called Focus Bear to help neurodivergent students with their studies by detecting when they are distracted.
"You tell it what you want to do and then it uses AI to check whether the websites that I have open relate to that goal," Mr Nagel said.
"The inspiration for it was my own lived experiences, as someone who's autistic and has ADHD.
"I found I was getting distracted a lot, and I wanted something that would actually block me from using my computer at night, and also blocked me from accessing emails in the morning until I've done my meditation and my exercise."
In conjunction with this tool, Mr Nagel and other students have access to a wide range of resources and spaces that help them access their studies in a way that suits their needs.
"It uses the principle of body doubling, which is where you are working next to someone else and you tell them what you're going to work on, and that creates some micro-accountability.
"I use that quite often and it really helps me."
Mr Valdes reminded people: "You're not alone."
"There's a community here and we will lift each other up and we will support each other," he said.
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